Wesley Chapel apartment fire: Pasco firefighters investigate alarm failure during blaze
WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. - Residents of the Cobalt apartment complex in Wesley Chapel are demanding to know why fire alarms and sprinklers weren't activated during a blaze that started in an attic on Thursday afternoon.
Firefighters reviewed video from Ring doorbells that showed workers and neighbors going door to door, letting everyone know a fire had started. As best they can tell, no fire alarms went off, nor did sprinklers stop the blaze.
Fire alarm investigation
What we know:
Pasco firefighters believe the building was up to code, but say the systems didn't work, because the fire was in the attic and above where it could be detected or automatically extinguished.
Numerous residents in the 90-unit building lost everything, with 200 displaced. The building is not safe for any residents to return yet.
The fire had been burning for nearly 25 minutes before firefighters were alerted.
Resident safety concerns
What they're saying:
Second floor resident Kyera Gaskin, who was out at work when the fire started, saw video of her dogs barking and panicking after the fire started. Her dogs were rescued successfully.
"I think about what if that would have happened at midnight? What if nobody would have saw the flames?" she said. "It would have took you an hour to turn on the alarms for us to get notified. More people would have got hurt. More animals would have died."
Resident Danielle Lewis was also at work when the fire started.
"I'm kind of traumatized to live in another apartment, even if I do ask those questions, because a freak accident is a freak accident, but maybe it wouldn't have been as bad if the building was a little bit safer," she said.
Unanswered fire questions
What we don't know:
Firefighters say they are still investigating as to why the alarms didn't go off, and in person fire watches at the complex will continue until they are no longer necessary. Cobalt did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
Six animals are currently unaccounted for, according to Pasco County firefighters.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Pasco County firefighters, who reviewed doorbell video and provided incident details, as well as complex residents.